


Nightmares

by roy_writes



Series: Character Studies [1]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Alternate Canon, Angst and Feels, Based on an All Time Low Song, Canon Compliant, Canon Era, Canon Related, Canon: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Everyone Needs A Hug, Feels, Fullmetal Alchemist Ending Spoilers, Gen, Hopeful Ending, Hurt Alphonse Elric, Hurt Edward Elric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:35:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24764758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roy_writes/pseuds/roy_writes
Summary: Ed and Al's journey. Based on 'Nightmares' by All Time Low.
Relationships: Alphonse Elric & Edward Elric, Alphonse Elric & Edward Elric & Trisha Elric, Trisha Elric/Van Hohenheim
Series: Character Studies [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2095317
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	Nightmares

**Author's Note:**

> I had a great time crying while writing this! The Elric brothers need hugs, I didn't realize everything they'd been through until I started with this.

**There's a little house on a perfect little hill  
Just short of a fairytale  
There's a little child with a million ways to feel  
Caught up in a hurricane  
Paper-thin walls  
Angry words from down the hall  
Something changed then  
I think about him every now and again**

"When's Dad coming back?" 

Alphonse's words had struck their mom some how because she changed the topic quickly by tickling Al. Ed knew he was smart, but this was the first time he'd ever thought he was too smart. He saw the little things that happened after Al's question. 

First, she'd paused like if she didn't know how to react. Then, she took a deep breath, Ed thought it was to recompose herself for him and Al. When she turned her eyes had been sad and her smile faltered before she put on a fake smile and went after Al.

"He'll be back before you know it." 

**Now there's a ghost in the back of this room  
And I don't like it  
I fall asleep with my covers pulled up  
And try to fight it  
I gotta say it's hard to be brave  
When you're alone in the dark  
I told myself that I wouldn't be scared  
But I'm still having nightmares  
I'm still having nightmares (but I'm still having nightmares)**

Only months after their father had left, Ed and Al lost their mother to an epidemic. He remembers thing about this event that had also made him wonder if he was too smart. 

He couldn't remember the way their house had looked before the doctors came, but he remembers when he opened the door with Al to find her laying on the ground, eyes closed. He and Al had both screamed for her to wake up, and a few minutes later, Ed had calmed enough to stand up and run to Winry's and bring back Granny Pinako.

Ed couldn't remember the way it felt when his mother hugged him and he fit perfectly in her arms, but he remembers how he was holding her hand that day. She had called him brave and said he had been the best big brother for Al, but still, she couldn't fight it off. He remembers how her hand went limp and he felt the life leave his mother.

Ed couldn't remember the smell of his mom's perfume, but he remembers the smell of the ingredients mixing together on that night. He remembers the way it smelled when he looked over and saw Al was gone and there was a monster where his mother should have been.

Ed couldn't remember the sound of him and Al laughing at jokes and stories with their mom. He knew all her stories by heart and could retell them perfectly if asked too, but he couldn't remember how they laughed happily together as a family. He remembers the sound of Al screaming as the Truth took him. He remembers hearing the fear in his little brother's voice as he thought 'This is it. I failed him. I was supposed to protect tim and he's gone now. I failed mom. I promised to watch and protect Al.'

Ed couldn't remember the taste of his mom's cooking, but he remembers the taste of blood in his mouth as Al carried him to Winry and Granny. He remembers the taste of blood in his mouth as he bit his cheek and lip in a feeble attempt to distract him from the pain of his automail surgery. He remembers the taste of blood when he pushed his body to the extremes to finish with his automail rehabilitation and recovery on 1 year instead of 3.

**Never did I think I'd be coming back around  
Digging up old memories  
Always used to be the one to let it go  
Kept my fears in a suitcase  
I locked them all away  
In a place I wouldn't find  
They still haunt me  
I think about it every now and again  
Now there's a ghost in the back of this room  
And I don't like it  
I fall asleep with my covers pulled up  
And try to fight it  
I gotta say it's hard to be brave  
When you're alone in the dark  
I told myself that I wouldn't be scared  
But I'm still having nightmares  
I'm still having nightmares (but I'm still having nightmares)**

Ed was shaking in the hallway as he eavesdropped in on Granny and Hoenheim's conversation. 

_"Are you telling me that after all those boys went through, the thing they brought back wasn't even their mother?"_

He needed to know. He needed answers. The next morning he and Granny made their way to the old house and started digging. Ed stopped many times to puke and his automail ports were aching, but he didn't stop. He needed these answers for Al and for himself.

The figure was much to big to be Trisha. The pelvic bone was male. The hair was black instead of her light chestnut brown. Ed couldn't help himself. He started laughing. He saw the way Granny looked at him when he started, like he had lost his mind and was cracking under pressure, but it was a relief to Ed. A new symbol of hope instead of a reminder of despair. 

**Now there's a ghost in the back of this room  
And I don't like it  
I fall asleep with my covers pulled up  
And try to fight it  
Now there's a ghost in the back of this room  
And I don't like it  
I fall asleep with my covers pulled up  
And try to fight it  
I gotta say it's hard to be brave  
When you're alone in the dark  
I told myself that I wouldn't be scared  
But I'm still having nightmares  
I'm still having nightmares (but I'm still having nightmares)**

They had won, but at what cost?

The Promised Day was over. Ed and Al had both got their bodies back. They had won, but at the cost of many others, Nina, Maes, Fu, Greed, Captain Buccaneer, and so many others. People who had been waiting for this achievement, but who had died before witnessing it. But Ed was glad that despite it all, he and Al were able to stay together.

**I gotta say it's hard to be brave  
When you're alone in the dark  
I told myself that I wouldn't be scared  
But I'm still having nightmares**

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I hope you enjoy it. I was unable to read/watch any of the manga or Brotherhood while writing this, so it's probably missing a few canon pieces, but that's okay because this is only a fic!


End file.
